Part 3 Semi-Finals/Girls - 2/27/13

Hi there. Tonight is the time to see the performances of the remaining top 20 girls. I am stunned beyond believe who they put through for the live shows which I will get to later. In the meantime, let me get started with how the show went down. Here goes.....

After welcoming the judges we get to the first young girl who is 19 year old Melinda Ademi. She is singing the song "Nobody's Perfect" originally by Jessie J. I thought her performance was fairly good however the judges were not that enthused. Keith Urban does say he loved the performance but felt Melinda was letting her nerves get to her. Nicki Minaj felt she was not connected enough with the song. Randy Jackson called it just okay while Mariah Carey tried to soften the blow by saying Melinda's nerves affected parts of the song.

Next up is 23 year old Candice Glover who was eliminated last year in the Vegas rounds. Tonight she opts to sing "Natural Woman" by Aretha Franklin. I could easily see Candice becoming the next Aretha as she does have a good voice and did her own arrangement to the song. It was pretty good. Keith loved it and gave her a standing ovation. Nicki says she has one of the strongest voices in the competition and loves her confidence. Randy calls Candice one of his favorites. Mariah feels she is a bona fide singer and really liked the arrangement.

Juliana Chahayed comes from a musical family and is only 15 years old. She is playing the guitar and giving a acoustic performance to Demi Lovato's "Skyscraper". I thought her rendition was so dreary and I could not wait for it to be over. Keith mentions the pitchy notes she showed during the song. Nicki feels she has a signature sound but feels she is too timid. Randy calls it an honest delivery and liked it. Mariah feels she has an angelic quality to her voice but was better during the Hollywood rounds.

25 year old Jett Hermano is playing the piano and giving us a slower version of the Rhianna song "Only Girl In The World". I thought she had a nice voice but overall it did not wow me. Keith liked the unique arrangement. Both Nicki and Randy felt there were no big moments in the song. Mariah finds her to be different and intriging but was not bowled over by the performance.

Cristabel Clack is 29 years old, married and the mother of three children. She is a worship minister by trade. Sadly her rendition of the song by Alicia Keys which is called "No One" came off a little too raspy for the judges. Keith does mention he loved her voice. Nicki feels her rasp was out of control even though she thought the song choice was a good one. Randy is the only judge who goes overboard with a standing ovation and calls her great. Mariah mainly said she liked her.

19 year old Aubrey Cleland is a very beautiful girl with a nice shape and a pretty voice. She shows her pretty voice in the Beyonce song "Sweet Dreams". While I thought her performance was fairly good I was not that wowed to want to buy music from her. The judges however each expressed how marketable this girl could be since she appeared to be so current with her choice of song. I think they went a little overboard with the praise.

I have not been too impressed with the next girl named Rachel Hale who is a country singer. However on this night I truly liked her rendition of the song "Nothing But The Water" by Grace Potter. It had that down south feel with the guitars and harmonica. I was surprised the judges were not that happy with her performance. Keith felt the song got on top of her in parts (whatever that means). Nicki liked her confidence, Randy liked the uptempo song and Mariah likes her smiling face but overall each was not that impressed with her singing. What the heck are these judges hearing I wonder?

Next up is a girl we have not seen much until now. Her name is Breanna Steer and she is 18 years old. Seems her home was destroyed by a hurricane and she and her family are re-building it. Her song choice is Jazmine Sullivan's "Bust Your Windows". I loved the jazzy vibe she gave to this song even though I was not familiar with the song. She definitely went to the top of my list of potentials in the girl category. Each of the judges also liked the vibe and found her to be believable and amazing. At least the judges and I agreed on this one.

Janelle Arthur who is 23 years old has tried out on this show three times. Tonight she is singing "Just A Kiss" by Lady Antebellum. It was okay but sort of boring overall especially since I have heard her sing better in the past. Keith feels the song choice did not give her a chance to shine. Nicki calls it flat and disconnected. Randy admits she is his favorite country girl but felt the song choice was wrong. Mariah agreed with Randy.

What a mess the last contestant is. That outlandish hairdo that Zoanette Johnson wears makes me want to grab a brush and calm it down. I felt she was the worst of the night as she performs the song "Circle of Life" written by Elton John and performed in the movie The Lion King. The judges unbelievably loved the screaming rendition that Zoanette gives to this song by rewarding her with a standing ovation and tons of compliments. Even the audience loved it and I thought "are they nuts or what"?

Now comes the results with the outlandish Zoanette Johnson being the first to safety. I just could not believe that the judges would put this one through. I felt so bad for the other five girls who would be eliminated soon.

The other nine girls fate is as follows: Melinda Ademi is eliminated, Juliana Chahayed is eliminated, Aubrey Cleland with her beauty is safe, Cristabel Clack is eliminated, Candice Glover is safe, Jett Hermano is eliminated, Breanna Steer is safe (yea). Now is comes down to our two country girls Rachel Hale and Janelle Arthur. I honestly think the judges had their minds made up before either of these two girls had sung. Sadly they cut Rachel and keep Janelle. Total bull in my opinion.

On the Thursday show we will find out the remaining five guys who will compete in the live shows. I look forward to seeing all ten perform and certainly hope the judges make better decisions than the ones they made on the Wednesday show.